Union proposes new labour group for professionals in gig economy

A union representing federal public servants wants to create a new labour organization to offer benefits and protect employment rights of the growing number of independent contractors working in today’s gig economy.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is braced for a fiery debate at its annual general meeting about what it calls a “new model of unionism” for professionals working in non-unionized, temporary and precarious jobs in the private and public sectors. The meeting is being held in Gatineau over the next two days.

The union’s board of directors is recommending $1.2 million be used to create Professionals Canada, a non-union labour organization, as part of a strategy to revitalize the labour movement and maintain a funding base in a changing world of work.

PIPSC President Debi Daviau called the proposal “super-progressive” for the traditionally staid union, and she expects some stiff resistance. But she said unions have to prepare for a shifting political landscape and an assault on the Rand formula to make union dues optional.

Under Canada’s labour laws, the Rand formula requires employers to deduct union dues from the paycheques of workers, whether they belong to a union or not.

“Professionals Canada is about sustaining our union in changing times and sustaining unionism,” said Daviau. “As provinces go right, there is no telling where the country is going … and the threat of losing the Rand formula is very real. We will be in the fight of our lives to sustain ourselves financially.”

Without dues checkoff — a voluntarily authorized and regular deduction of an employee’s wages by an employer to pay off the union dues by deductions in earnings, instead of separate individual payments — some employees would opt not to pay union dues, which would dramatically reduce union revenues and services to its unionized members.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling, known as the Janus decision, giving public servants the right to opt out of paying union dues — while still receiving union-negotiated benefits. It was a devastating blow for the labour movement.

Daviau said the Janus decision was the clincher that convinced her the time was right to take the proposal to the membership for a vote.

“I am worried people will say we need more time, but I think the time is now,” she said. “We can’t get caught with our pants down after the kind of change that the Janus decision made.”

PIPSC is the second-largest federal union. It represents more than 60,000 professionals in the public service, from scientists and engineers to auditors and IT specialists — which is why it feels perfectly positioned to target similar professionals outside government.

With Professionals Canada, it’s targeting the 3.5 million professionals — those working on contracts and in term or temporary jobs in the private and public sectors — to buy services tailored to their needs as professionals, such as benefits packages, advice, advocacy and a “community” of interest.

“This is a growing community, and if we don’t do something to protect them, it will be the new normal in Canada, and that is not good for any Canadians,” said Daviau.

The growing precarious workforce is almost impossible to organize in traditional ways. Workers jump from job to job and work for different employers. They feel isolated, lack benefits, and don’t have a “community” or voice to advocate for them, said Daviau.

If approved, Professionals Canada would launch in February 2020. That also marks the 100th anniversary of PIPSC, which began as an association of professionals and became a union in 1967.

PIPSC held focus groups with independent contractors, and 73 per cent said they would likely join such an organization. The big draw was being able to buy affordable health and dental benefits.

PIPSC budgeted about $1.2 million, including nearly $700,000 in startup costs, to launch Professionals Canada. It will be funded by a repayable line of credit, backed by PISPC investments, and used as needed. Professionals Canada will repay the line of credit and pay PISPC for any services it uses.

The organization would start in Ontario as a testing ground before expanding. The first year would be spent building the organization, developing a recruitment strategy, planning an advocacy agenda, and negotiating a benefits package.

The organization would be a first in Canada, but Prospect UK and Professionals Australia are two unions representing professionals in the public service that branched out to represent professionals in both the private and public sectors, including independent contractors.

Daviau said Professionals Canada’s fees will be lower than dues charged by PIPSC, because it won’t have the high costs of collective bargaining and representing employees in grievances, adjudications or court.

Any employee benefits negotiated by Professionals Canada would be paid for by members, with no contributions from employers, as in unionized workplaces.

The union says it’s being “cautious” by estimating it will attract 1,000 members in the first year. If it recruits more, the organization could be scaled up faster. If recruitment is lower than expected, the project would be reassessed.

But venturing into the private sector to improve benefits for consultants and contractors doesn’t sit well with some members. They worry it conflicts with the union’s drive to stop contracting out in government.

The federal government spends about $12 billion a year on professional services, and PIPSC has long argued that the work being farmed out to contractors could be done in-house, if public servants were given a chance or training.

“I think strengthening contractors and the terms and conditions of their work would discourage the government from over-engaging in contractors.” said Daviau.

But she argues consultants working for the federal government, a highly unionized workplace, aren’t the main targets. Rather, the organization wants to recruit professionals in small- and medium-sized businesses.

The proposal is a major departure for PIPSC, which historically has been a conservative union that sticks to bread-and-butter issues, such as pay, benefits and working conditions in the public service. For years, it steered clear of social justice and partisan issues. However, it launched a highly successful campaign against the Harper government to stop muzzling scientists, later campaigning against the Conservatives in the 2015 election.

“I am just hoping there are more people with a long-term vision,” said Daviau. “The majority have been around for a long time; they understand the world has changed since we started out in the union business. If we don’t adapt, we die.”